Chapter 33
CHAPTER 33
CALLUM
“What y’all call summer and what we call summer back in Tennessee are not the same thing,” Parker declared. “It’s nearly July and I’m wearing sleeves , Callum.”
Lips twitching at her vehemence, I turned to unlock the door to the house. “Is that a problem?”
“I mean, no. Although I don’t know if I’ll ever go truly swimming here. We get these temperatures in, like, March. By now it’s bumping the backside of a hundred degrees.”
I did the mental math. That’d be around thirty-six in Celsius. “That sounds verra unpleasant.”
“That’s why we have air conditioning. Really good air conditioning.”
“We don’t need it much here. A few days out of the year.”
“Fair point. I’m getting used to having the windows open for the breeze. I still say we should have ceiling fans, just to keep the air moving. It’s too quiet at night.”
“You mean aside from your snoring?”
Parker gasped in only semi-mock outrage. “I do not snore.”
“Aye, you do. You have the cutest wee snore. Just a little snuffle.” Especially when she was extra tired, which she usually was after one of our excursions. I expected more of that tonight, after the paddle boarding trip we’d been on most of the day.
“Take it back.”
“It’s adorable.”
She poked me in the ribs. “Take it back, Quinn.”
I gently trapped her hands. “Fine. You’re the picture of decorum while you sleep.”
Falkor made a groaning noise and gave us both some monumental side-eye.
Parker stuck her tongue out at him. “Nobody asked you.”
Laughing, I let us all into the house.
It was midafternoon, and this time of year we had hours of daylight left, but I could already note signs of an impending flare in the way Parker’s movements had slowed and the slight tension around her eyes. She’d stiffened up on the ride home and was favoring her lower back a bit. Not that she’d uttered a word of complaint. She seldom did, but over the past six weeks, since she’d moved in, I’d paid attention and learned. A good hot bath and some time on the heating pad might head off the worst of it.
“We should get cleaned up.”
“We should start the chili for supper first,” she argued. “The longer it simmers, the better it will taste.”
“Fine. You’re on chopping duty.” I nudged her toward the stool at the counter and grabbed a cutting board and a knife. When she gave me a long, suspicious look, I shrugged. “You know I hate dicing the onions. Better for my eyes if you do them way over here.”
It was a flimsy excuse, but she went with it, sliding onto the stool with a sigh and a wince she didn’t quite manage to hide. I presented her with the onion and peppers and turned away to pull the mince out of the fridge. I set some oil to heat in a heavy-bottomed stew pot and began to brown the beef.
“What else do we need?”
Thunk went the knife. “Beef stock. Canned tomatoes. Bottle of beer.”
While I reached into the cupboard for the tinned diced tomatoes and stock, Falkor trotted past me and opened the refrigerator door, carefully pulling one of the lagers from the door and bringing it over to me.
“That will never stop being weird.” I took the bottle from him and gave him a scratch. “Thanks for the help, lad.”
“Onions and peppers are ready,” Parker announced.
I broke up the browning mince with a wooden spoon and added the onions and peppers to the pot. Giving the lot of it a stir, I moved to the sink to wash off the bottle. Just in case.
Parker abandoned her stool and headed over to the spice rack. She hissed as she reached for something on the top.
“Bath after this,” I declared, plucking the chili powder and cumin down for her. “You had a big day.”
“I had an amazing day. But yeah, bath sounds good.”
Moving in what had now become a familiar rhythm, we finished dumping everything into the pot for the chili and set it to simmer on a low flame. Then we moved back to our bedroom. Because it was our bedroom now. Her things filled half the closet and drawers. Little signs of her were everywhere, from the jewelry scattered across the top of the dresser, to the romance novel on the nightstand on her side of the bed, to all the little pots and jars of girlie things that now took up more than half the counter space in the bathroom.
I loved it. Loved knowing she’d settled in here. With me. Loved knowing how well she fit into my house. Into my life. I simply loved her. Beyond all reason. And I was working myself up to telling her.
Without fuss, I drew the bath, adding in the bath salts with arnica and lavender she preferred for these sorts of days. When I’d bought this house, I’d thought the giant soaker tub the previous owner had installed was a monumental waste of space. But it was exactly what Parker needed. The fact that she sat on the edge of the bed as the tub filled told me she was definitely starting to feel the over-exertion.
“Need a hand?”
She scowled a little. “I can undress myself. I’m not a child.”
“Hobbit, I can promise that I have never once thought you were a child when I was undressing you.” I let the gravel drop into my tone, which had a satisfying blush rising to her cheeks. “I can appreciate the view, even when it’s a look-don’t-touch situation.” She was in no shape for anything I might like to do with her tonight. And that was fine. I found I enjoyed taking care of her in every capacity.
“Fine. I’d appreciate a little help.”
Carefully, I stripped her down, letting my eyes linger on the body I’d learned every intimate inch of these past weeks. I could still fantasize about next time. I had a long, long list of ways I wanted to pleasure her.
Before she could protest, I slipped my arm beneath her legs and scooped her off the bed.
“What are you doing?”
“Giving you bed-to-tub service.” I carried her bride-style into the bathroom and carefully lowered her into the steaming water.
Her instant sigh as the water closed over her was as gratifying as it was arousing. “Oh, that feels good.”
I turned off the water and crouched at the edge of the tub. “What else do you need?”
“You.”
Damn if that word didn’t shoot straight to my cock. “Parker,” I rasped.
Her lips curved. “I didn’t mean that. Although always that. I know I’m in no shape for the acrobatics required to take advantage of tub sex at the moment. But you would make for a very convenient heat source along my back, and there’s room enough in here for both of us. Please?”
As if I’d deny her anything.
“I do appreciate your pragmatism.” I efficiently shed my clothes and carefully sank into the water behind her.
It took a little finagling to situate her between my legs, but at last she lay back against my chest with a contented sigh. The water was just high enough to cover her nipples, and I used my hands to keep a steady wash of warmth over her chest. Despite the hopeful erection I was determinedly ignoring, this was comfortable, and I felt my own tension unraveling. I never seemed to be able to hold on to it long when Parker was around. And that was nothing short of a miracle.
She let her head loll back against my shoulder. “The tub was totally worth moving in for.”
I pressed a kiss to the top of her shoulder. “Just the tub?”
Her mouth curved, though she didn’t open her long-lashed eyes. “You’re pretty great, too. Even if you’re totally making up lies about me snoring.”
My own lips pulled into a smile. That expression had become far more natural since she’d come into my life. “I know this wasn’t precisely what you wanted.”
She did open her eyes then, glancing up at me over her shoulder. “I don’t like the reason we took this step, but don’t mistake that reluctance for me not wanting this with you. Because I did. I do. I’m happy here, Callum.”
It meant a lot to me to hear that. I knew I hadn’t gone about getting her here the right way. But maybe I could make up for that now.
“I know the threat we all worried about hasn’t materialized. And I’m grateful for that. But I can’t say that I regret that it brought you here. Because I’m happy, too. I didn’t think that was something I had the capacity to feel anymore. That’s all you. Because you’re fucking amazing. I have no idea what you see in me, but I need you to know that I love you.”
Those big brown eyes filled with tears. “Callum. I love you, too.” She tried to turn in my arms, but there wasn’t room. “Damn it, you had to say it when I can’t properly look you in the face.”
Chuckling, I eased her back around. “You can look me in the face all you want later. I just needed you to know.”
“I’m sorry we can’t celebrate that appropriately just now.”
“While I’ll never turn down the opportunity to make love to you, that’s no’ why I’m with you and no’ why I love you. You are the strongest, bravest, most amazing woman I know.”
“Racking up the compliments, Quinn. I see you’re making up for the snoring thing.”
A laugh vibrated my chest as I wrapped my arms around her. “Seems I’ve got a way to go yet.”
We stayed in the bath for a good long while, draining a bit and adding more hot water several times, until our fingers and toes wrinkled, and the enticing scents of chili grew strong enough to draw us out of the water. Parker had reached the limp noodle stage, so she docilely let me dry her off and dress her in some of her favorite lounge clothes.
I got her settled on the sofa with a heating pad and fixed us both bowls of chili while Falkor looked on with hopeful eyes.
“This is no’ for you, lad.”
“Oh, but he loves the chips,” Parker argued. When she held one out, he bounded over, plopping his butt down and waiting patiently until she fed it to him. Then he stretched out below her on the rug with a happy groan.
This was my life now. A business that had grown to something we could be proud of, and a woman who understood and loved me to share my home with. I was a lucky bastard.
And if there was a voice in the back of my mind warning me that despite the quiet, the threat remained, I chose to focus on the now.